A Purpose of God’s Kindness (Romans 2:4)

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Many people in our world have done a bang-up job of refashioning God into someone he is not. This should be no surprise, as this has been going on since the very first human sin. Consider Cane who found himself furious with God for not accepting a sacrifice that Cane thought was just fine.

One of the reshapings of God that is most common is the thought of God as all love with no judgment or wrath. People see the Scriptural declarations of God’s love and they fail to see the total picture. God is gloriously loving, and there is no doubt about that. God has shown kindness to all humanity. He did not kill us after our very first sin, and that shows a great deal of mercy and forbearance on his part.

But Romans 2:4 tells us that God’s kindness has a purpose, and if you are not careful, you might miss it. One of the reasons that God is kind to those who sin against him is in order to bring them to repentance. When you and I, who by nature are evil, do what our evil nature demands, we should be judged by God. When God chooses to show us kindness instead of the judgment we deserve, that should provoke in us a reaction. The proper reaction is not to glory in our sin and to go on sinning. No, the proper reaction is to see the kindness of God, understand the ugliness of our sin, and turn from that sin while crying out to God for his pardon.

Perhaps it would be good for you, today, to recognize some of the kindness that God has shown you. He did not kill you and judge you the moment of your first sin. He has let the sun shine on you and the wind blow around you. He has let you experience the rainfall that feeds the crops that feed your body. If you are reading this, you have Internet access for goodness’ sake, that’s pretty kind of God to let you have such technology.

God has been kind to you in more ways than you can count. How have you been toward him? You have sinned against him; we all have. He does not even require you to be good to be saved. He simply calls us to turn from sin and trust in Christ. There is nothing in that about making yourself good. In fact, it is about rejecting your wrong and crying out to him for mercy to make you right. Look at the kindness of God, and let it lead you to repent of sin and love his mercy.